The Colorado Avalanche’s 2025-26 season ended with the team on top of the league as the Presidents’ trophy winner. They had been cruising through the postseason and felt like a sure thing for the Stanley Cup Final, but were overtaken by the Vegas Golden Knights. With the heartbreaking end to the campaign, some players have played their last shift with bergundy and blue.
Sadly, that’s just the way it goes. Every player is on a contract, and when it is up, they have a chance to go somewhere else—most commonly if they are unrestricted free agents as opposed to restricted free agents.
I’ll be covering all Avalanche free agents regardless of official term.
Brent Burns, D (UFA)
Brent Burns signed a one-year contract with the Avalanche last offseason. It was one of those, “hey, that’s cool, a well-respected, well-known player who has been around the league a very long time.
Burns was in search of his first Stanley Cup and perhaps then head off into the sunset in retirement. It was cool that Burns viewed the Avalanche as a true Stanley Cup competitor, and he wasn’t even close to being wrong.
He finished the season with 12 goals and 23 assists. He also played all 82 regular season games. Burns is a true ironman of the NHL as he has played in the last 328 games of his career. He has not missed a game since the 2020-21 season with the San Jose Sharks.
He had over 100 turnovers over the course of the 2025-26 regular season.
Though teammates repeatedly talked highly about Burns, primarily about his off-ice silliness, it would surprise me if they have him back for a second season. Unless he wants one more chance to try and work for a Stanley Cup, I could see him retiring this offseason.
Brett Kulak, D (RFA)
Brett Kulak was acquired by the Avalanche in the Samuel Girard trade in February. With the Avalanche this season, Kulak played in 27 games, recording three assists.
He played just over 19 minutes per game during his stint with the Avs. One of the better things about his time in Colorado is the fact that he shared the ice with six different defensive teammates. That could truly go a long way in chemistry. While it’s always nice to have a consistent pairing such as Cale Makar-Devon Toews, you’re not always going to get that, especially past your top pair.
Kulak had the game-winning goal to clinch the series against the Minnesota Wild. When you think of guys that you can name off who are likely to do that, Kulak’s name doesn’t typically cross your mind. But Avs Faithful won’t forget that incredible moment.
Joel Kiviranta, Forward (UFA)
Joel Kiviranta is a decent depth piece. He signed with the Avalanche as a free agent in 2023, playing in 56 games in the 2023-24 season and recording three goals and six assists. The following year, he played in 79 games, recording 16 goals and seven assists, both of which are career-highs.
In the 2025-26 season, Kiviranta played in 51 games, getting three goals and six assists. He had a goals-for percentage of 62.5%, and Corsi For percentage of 59%, both of which are career-highs.
Kiviranta earned a contract extension with the Avs after his 2024-25 performance, but with the depth the team boasted this season, he didn’t have even close to the year he would have hoped for.
Jack Drury, Forward
If I was given a dollar for every time I heard Jared Bednar praise the Jack Drury line, I don’t know how much money I’d get, but it’s probably more than a handful.
The Avalanche had some questions regarding the third-line center spot after a few changes to the roster, including Charlie Coyle’s departure. They decided to try Drury at that spot and he was superb.
However, the team acquired Nic Roy in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and then moved Drury to the fourth line center spot. And just like that, it was noted by tons of people how the Avalanche now have the best center depth in the entire NHL.
Drury had 10 goals and 17 assists in 82 regular season games this season. That goal total is a career-high, while that assist total ranks second in his career.
He had a faceoff success rate of 58.1% this season on a total of 969 faceoffs. That ranked 12 in the entire NHL. (This source lists player faceoff percentages of guys who took 200 faceoffs or more in a season).
Zakhar Bardakov, Forward
Zakhar Bardakov saw action in 60 games for the Avalanche this season. He had one goal and nine assists.
Averaging just 7:12 a game, his role wasn’t big by any means.
He had 35 shots, and a faceoff percentage of 42.4%.
Bardakov was a depth piece for the Avalanche, so when a player or two were banged up and unable to play, he’d be in the lineup.
Nick Blankenburg, Defenseman
Nick Blankenburg faced an interesting situation with the Avalanche.
Acquired from the Nashville Predators mid-season, he played in 12 regular season games for Colorado, getting two goals and one assist.
One problem I have with Blankenburg is the same one I had with Samuel Girard: His size. Blankenburg is 5’9” and 177 pounds. That is absolutely tiny in terms of a hockey player. While he brings his own skillset that doesn’t include major physicality, I’m not the only one who wants the Avalanche to acquire bigger defensemen this offseason.
The Rest…
The AHLers
The Avalanche might lose a couple of players who primarily play for their AHL affiliate team.
Alex Barre-Boulet, Jack Ahcan, TJ Tynan, Ronald Attard, Jacob MacDonald (captain), Matthew Stienburg, Jason Polin and Valtteri Puustinen are all scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency.
On the restricted free agency front are guys such as Ivan Ivan, Taylor Makar, Chase Bradley, Tye Felhaber, and Daniil Gushchin.
The biggest thing the Avalanche will look to do this offseason is to extend star defenseman Cale Makar. He will be entering the final year of his current contract.
With the salary cap going up, it should be pretty easy for the Avalanche to get that deal done, along with planning for the future with other players. They currently have a projected cap total of $2,979,159, so we’ll see what sorts of deals they can figure out for this upcoming season. But in 2027-28, they are projected to have just under $38 million in cap space.
Makar’s new deal will eat up a decent chunk of that, but it should still be a good amount to use on other players.
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